Manipulation
by asgxrd
Summary: Gravity had always pulled them together. It had once tugged at her more, but now he found himself falling for her more than ever. Eames/OC.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

Silence gripped the air. The smallest sound - the parting of lips, a single breath - seemed to echo violently through the polished room.

A slight jolt shot through my mind as the man beside me moved forward, as though locked in a trance. The room erupted with the fall of his feet.

_Bloody hell Parker_, my mind mused as I glared at the younger man taking tentative steps across the room.

A loud thumping sound drummed through my ears. I glanced around, raising my eyebrow, searching for the source. My muscles relaxed the slightest as I realised sheepishly that it was the sound of blood pumping furiously through my ears. In that second, I also realised how anxious I was. An ache quite dull simmered through my muscles.

Once again, the room exploded into sound as I dug my hand deep into my trouser pocket and pulled out a neatly folded handkerchief. If I hadn't been on edge, I may have smiled at the handy work of the folding. Another thing caught my eye too: stitched into the corner was a shining, silver E. The source of my nerves became clear to me. _Where is she?_

A single bead of sweat ran slowly down my forehead, and I wiped it away as I surveyed the two men standing either side of the vault's gaping entrance. Only a part of each was visible, but I knew each held a gun at his hip. I turned back quickly to examine Parker's progress.

_How long can it take?_ I mentally questioned the mark. Not wanting to intrude completely, I averted my gaze to the entrance once again.

Something had changed. The visible part of the left guard had disappeared. I reached carefully to the gun concealed in my breast pocket, noticing the guard's feet poking out from behind the wall, as though laying down. I clicked off the safety.

Silky, and white like porcelain, a thin ankle stepped into view. It was skirted with a light teal fabric which flowed like sea foam as she walked. All anxiety I had felt melted at the sight. My hand slid off the gun as I raked my eyes up her slender torso.

Her smile. They were full and plump, heart-shaped, yet small, in keeping with the the rest of her features. Currently, they were pulled up at the corners in one of her shy, warm smiles that could light up a whole room like a thousand suns. She seemed to have a slight variation on it whenever it was directed to me. These were the smiles that sent my heart into supernova.

As always, the smile reached her eyes; a captivating shade of green, like pale seaweed covered with sand. They stared into mine, and I felt myself relax a bit more.

This gesture, though small, was her mistake. She lost focus in that one second. But that one second was long enough.

It seemed to happen in slow motion, as though I knew it would happen, but had no power to stop it.

A shot tore through the air, bouncing off the walls. I looked to the man, his gun drawn and aimed at her, and shot him. He fell to the floor with a dull thud.

With a half-hearted, lopsided smirk, I turned back to her. The grin slid from my face as I noticed something that hadn't been there before. I watched her face twist into an expression of pain and horror as she looked down at the crimson hole that now flawed her smooth, pale chest.

Eyes wide, she looked back to me and then averted her gaze over my shoulder. The healthy colour in her face drained and her knees buckled. I lunged forward.

"_Carina!_"

* * *

**A/N: Hello to any readers! If I have any, then thank you very much :-) I'm a huge fan of Inception, I'm also quite new, so don't hate me! I've been dreaming up this story for a while and I just have to get it out. As I said, if I have any readers, then please follow or review or whatever, because I promise I have a definitive storyline. So that's me done for now, perhaps I'll see you soon **

**(P.S. For the record, I do ship Eames and Arthur, but perhaps not as much as others...)**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_"If I retreat,_

_words, wars and symphonies,_

_make room, we're taking over here."_

X

"It's none of your bloody business, alright?"

"Exactly, it's _our_ business, and I'm just trying to do what's best for the team-"

"She _is_ what's best for th-"

"No, she's not now drop it, we need someone better."

"_Better_?"

The old warehouse wasn't a stranger to bickering. Arguments, however, were a different case. I had just stepped foot into the familiar room and stuffed the key in my pocket, only to find one half of the team at each other's throats.

"Hey," I said in a small voice, announcing my entrance.

Yusef caught my eye from one of the seats and smiled weakly as I walked forward. "Hey," he replied, raising a hand and waving.

I nodded in return and pointed at the scene. An eye roll came as a reply.

"Hey," I started again, louder, focusing now on the other two men. The hostility continued.

"She's not qualified."

"_Qualified_? I hate to break it to you sunshine but you're not 'qualified' either."

Now I found myself between the two, pushing Arthur away. "Hey. Hey!"

"Don't patronise me," he threatened, overlooking me.

I lost it, screaming. "Hey!"

His eyes lightened as he looked me in the eye. Lips twitching into the tiniest smile, he greeted me. "Ariadne, how've you been?"

"Good, I've been good. What's going on here?"

Frowning again, he looked darkly over my shoulder. "Him."

A scoff behind me.

"Eames?" I asked, turning so I could see both at once.

Easing his glare at Arthur, the forger wiped his chin with his hand and eyed me. "In case you haven't noticed, we are without an extractor. We need one for this job. I simply offered to ask an old friend of mine."

I raised an eyebrow at the word 'friend'. Arthur laughed and started to walk away. "See? And she doesn't even know the girl."

Eames' eyes turned dark as his gaze followed Arthur. "She's not a _girl_-"

"Eames," I scolded quietly.

He looked down at me, lips spreading into a goofy grin, "Hello darling." Pulling me into a hug, he whispered an apology in my ear with a low voice. "Sorry about that."

"Don't worry," I smiled, stepping back to look at him. "Who is she?"

Something started working in his mind, I could see the cogs turning as he gazed into my eyes. It was hard to tell if he was simply transfixed, looking for something within me, or looking through them to find something much greater. This is what had always kept me fascinated with Eames.

Abruptly dipping his head, he sighed, yet kept a smile on his face. "An old friend." I went to interrupt, but he held up his hand. "Yes, I know what you're thinking, and yes, you would be quite right. We were, um, together, yes, but it finished a few years ago, maybe not on the best terms-" He trailed off and looked down, clearing his throat. "But uh, I can assure you, I have _no_ intent of that kind. She's just a friend."

I exhaled quietly. Something was still missing. "Well, I don't see any harm in her being here-"

"Yes, she's lovely, rea-"

"_But_, what can she do?" I quizzed. By this time, I had noticed that Yusef was listening to our conversation. "I mean, can she extract? Does she know _anything_ about inception?"

Quite suddenly, his eyes lit up brightly. "Of course she does. I taught her." His smile only grew wider as I looked at him in shock. A chuckle. "She caught on very quickly. She can forge, perform extraction, inception, and a little something we liked to call 'manipulation'. Very rare, she's the best."

Confusion didn't quite cover it, I felt skeptical. Sighing, I chose the two questions that seemed most important. "So... _How_ can she do all those things? And what's 'manipulation'?"

Again, he smiled. This time his eyes grew small, as though focusing on his answer. "Well, she's very brainy. Her mind has a very high capacity. And manipulation, Ariadne, is when a person can manipulate the subject's subconscious. They can literally control the projections. If they are the subject, then they can tell their own projections what to do. Only the very skilled can do that part, in fact I believe Carina is the only one. Not too sure."

"Carina?" I asked. He nodded in reply with a small "hm".

"So we could have got her in on the last job?" Yusef chimed in, startling me.

Eames looked at him and shrugged. "I suppose. If I had actually known of Fischer's training or Cobb's situation, then I would have suggested bringing her in."

From his corner of the room, I heard Arthur scoff to himself. I rolled my eyes, and found Eames to be doing the same, smiling.

"That wasn't aimed at _you_, Arthur."

He scoffed again, putting down his notes, and went to say something over his shoulder. I interrupted. "You know, we could use her. What she can do, it's useful. Even if you don't want her as an extractor."

A subtle change in his expression caught my eye. _Did I say something?_ I thought, as his eyes seemed to sadden. Checking what I had said, I realised instantly what was wrong. _He misses Cobb_. It made sense that he would snap at Eames for suggesting his old friend when one of Arthur's old friends had just left him. That, and the fact that he had a short fuse when he was in a bad mood.

He looked back at us, at me, checking the sincerity I was wordlessly pleading with. Rubbing his face, he nodded. "Okay. We'll get her in." Now he stared at Eames and spoke louder, "But no funny business, we can't jeopardise this job, not like last time." From the corner of my eye, I saw Eames nod. "Where is she?"

"The last I heard, she was in Corsica. Bastia, I believe."

He stood up, striding over to us. "Okay. We'll find her and test her."

I blinked, confused. "Test her?"

X

Everything was holding up well. The projections were acting normal, and needn't use up my focus. This was what came of good practise.

Now, I was trained on observing them, analysing every move I could catch between the dancing figures.

The architect was the easiest to spot; she stood out massively, gaping with wide eyes at the beige and ivory marble arches that lined the room. Once or twice, I had caught her looking into the mirrors that paned the inner arches. Her pale skin was radiant in the glow of the chandelier light, with the ornate statues adding a tint of gold to her warmth. I smiled as she took a quick glance to the intricate paintings on the ceiling.

When her gaze returned down, confusion and outright shock plastered her face. I turned away, refraining from a smirk. I had disguised myself as Arthur, who I knew had stayed behind in the last level. I could see her striding up to me hastily in one of the mirrors. She stopped a couple feet away from me.

"Arthur?" she whispered sharply, tugging at my sleeve.

I turned and tried to look inquisitive. "Yes?"

"What are you doing here?"

I smiled. "We're doing the job, Ariadne." She wasn't good at hiding her confusion, and I took advantage of this weakness. "Where's Eames?" I asked, trying to sound natural.

"Looking for Carina in one of the other rooms," she replied easily, betraying herself. I could see almost immediately that she knew what she had done.

I frowned. "Ariadne?"

Without looking at me, she apologised, "I, I gotta go." In seconds, I had lost her in the crowd. After a quick glance in the mirror - and a body swap to an average-looking brunette - I set off to the next room.

"_Damn_," I cursed, finding it empty. _Did you really think_ he _would think you would be in the next room?_ I sighed to myself. I had tried convincing myself that it would be fine, but now, coming to face him again, I knew I was lying. Why had he come looking for me?

Taking a deep breath, I stepped into the next room, and found what I was looking for.

Pacing in the middle of the large room was an attractive blonde, her hair coiffed into voluminous curls to her shoulders and her face perfectly made up. She was wearing an elegant black dress, tight to her body, that reached her knees. In the back of my mind, I felt a hint of intimidation as she turned and looked me up and down. I could tell she was one of Eames' previous lovers. _How typical_, I thought, stopping myself from rolling my eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't realise someone was in here" I said, turning to leave.

"No, no it's fine," she said dryly. I caught her glance in the mirrored wall, and I kept my focus on not giving away my forgery.

I smiled at her, then to myself. _There's no use in playing games._

"You know, Eames," I began, not making eye contact, "this isn't going to work if we both look like someone else." I looked up to the mirror to find Eames looking back, a wry smile on his face.

"Hello love," he said, his voice husky.

I turned back from the mirror. "Hello," I replied, my voice small.

Smiling to himself, he nodded and gestured to me, "You look, well, you look great. Beautiful."

I nodded back. "Yeah, well, so does she." Though I said it playfully, I could taste the bitterness on my tongue, regretting it instantly.

It was hard to read the look he gave me. Half amused, the rest a mix of shock and borderline offence. He exhaled sharply, "Sorry?"

After rolling my eyes, I began pacing and held his gaze. "She's obviously someone _you_ would go for," I breathed.

His raised his eyebrows. I smiled at the creases that appeared on his forehead. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

I scoffed and turned away. "Oh nothing, Eames, this isn't why we're here."

"No, no it's not-"

I spun around quickly, various parts of my mind desperate to know why he had come back. "Then why _are_ we here?"

Stumbling over his words, he shook his head lightly. "Well, uh..."

"You need me."

This time, his eyes searched mine intently. It felt like before, though back then, I wouldn't have held anything back. The response came quicker than expected, his voice barely a mumble. "Yes."

I nodded lightly, not wanting to make things awkward. I knew how he felt, as his feelings mirrored mine.

"So what's the job?" I asked, keeping my voice low.

He looked up and grinned, "Oh I can't tell you that yet." The smile on his face grew when I gave him a questioning look. "Well that would ruin the surprise now, wouldn't it?"

_Surprise?_ I thought. _You have no idea._

I began walking, looking to position myself closer to the mirror. As if on cue, Ariadne burst through the door, half running, her face flustered.

"Eames," she started, "the projectio- oh." Her speech cut off as she noticed me, halting her stride.

With no hesitation, Eames gestured with his hand for her to go to him as he averted his gaze from me. She looked at me, her eyes flickering between my features, then continued walking at a slower pace.

Though she whispered, I could hear every word. "The projections are getting a bit, I don't know, anxious. And, I don't know how, but earlier, I saw Arthur in the crowd." At this point, Eames' eyes flickered to me. "I mean, how is he here? Eames?"

This time, his stare was deliberate. Ariadne turned to me too, her face changing from confusion to disbelief.

I looked at them through my eyelashes, smiling slyly. "Well Eames, I didn't want to ruin the surprise."

Before they could comprehend what I had said, the mirrors behind me erupted. They shattered panel by panel, working in toward the middle. Each one exploded quicker than the last, the broken glass hanging in mid-air.

A strangled scream escaped Ariadne's lips, muffled by her hand. She ducked her head down and Eames pulled her in close. His eyes darted around, finally coming to rest on me.

I continued to look at him, concentrating on controlling a familiar sound that reached us from two rooms down. When his eyes showed a sign of understanding, my lips pulled up into a slight smile.

In simultaneous explosions, the mirror behind me shattered as the projections surged into the room. It took but half a second for Eames' mouth to drop open, and for a shard of glass to violently pierce my back.

* * *

**A/N: Firstly, I'd like to say thank you to those who read the prologue, I didn't expect so many views, let alone a few follows and a favourite. Extra big thank you to those followers and that one favourite-person(?)!**

**Next, wow this is a long chapter. At least compared to the prologue it is, I'm not sure how long I'm planning on averaging these chapters. This one is very dialogue fuelled, I couldn't get around it.**

**Lastly, I hope you enjoy, maybe stick around for the ride, and review/follow/favourite! Thank you :-)**

**Chapter song: Let's Kill Tonight - Panic! at The Disco**

**Just for the record, I posted this once without the second part, then added it. I just thought I should put that here. I post chapters for my iPad, so I've there's any italics or bolds that shouldn't be then it's because this is very fiddley!**


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